SAN ANTONIO – No. 7/8 Trinity University Women's Soccer hits the road again this weekend for its next two Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference matches at University of St. Thomas (Fri., 7:30 p.m.) and at Centenary College (Sun., 2:30 p.m.), the second-to-last conference regular-season weekend on the 2022 schedule.
The Tigers (14-0-1, 10-0-0 SCAC) enter the weekend on a 13-match winning streak, and a 10-match shutout streak. Since the latter streak began on September 18, Trinity has scored 50 goals, and at least five goals in six of its last seven.
NCAA III Rankings – Back to No. 7 for D3soccer.com
Trinity rode the pendulum back to the seventh spot in NCAA III in this week's D3soccer.com release. Since its first poll was released September 20, the Tigers have alternated between the seventh and eighth spots week-to-week.
Meanwhile, the United Soccer Coaches have firmly planted Trinity at No. 8, the ranking it has held for the third straight week.
This week's polls kept Trinity as the highest-ranked member of Region 10, though American Southwest Conference leader University of Mary Hardin-Baylor joins the Tigers as the only other Region 10 squad to be featured in both polls. D3soccer.com also featured Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (CA), Pacific Lutheran University (WA) and University of Puget Sound (WA) at 21st, 22nd and 25th, respectively.
NCAA III Regional Rankings – First Week
As the 2022 regular-season campaign reaches the homestretch, the NCAA has announced the first set of regional rankings Wednesday for Region 10 which include Trinity. The first release of ranked teams in each region is not in order of rank, simply listed alphabetically. True rank order will be evaluated and released over each of the next two weeks leading up to the NCAA III tournament.
While the Tigers continue to make their case for regional supremacy, the NCAA has also listed Mary Hardin-Baylor and Hardin-Simmons University of the American Southwest Conference, Pomona-Pitzer of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and three members of the Northwest Conference in Pacific Lutheran, Puget Sound and George Fox University (OR).
SCAC Offensive Player of the Week: Michaela Bosco
For the second time this season, sophomore forward Michaela Bosco (Weatherford, TX / Weatherford) was named the league's Offensive Player of the Week as she posted her second career hat trick—plus a fourth—in Wednesday's matchup with Schreiner University, part of a six-goal week in SCAC competition.
Bosco's selection made her the first of the Tigers to earn a second SCAC Player of the Week this season as she's claimed two of Trinity's four offensive selections out of the team's nine overall this season.
This week's effort culminated in taking the team's lead in scoring for the season with 14 goals, though just one more than senior forward Molly Sheridan (St. Louis, Mo. / Kirkwood).
Preview – St. Thomas, Centenary
The Tigers head east this weekend ranked sixth or better across NCAA III in 10 different statistical categories, including second in goals-against average (0.133), second in shots per game (27) and fifth in total goals (59).
Bosco leads NCAA III with six game-winning goals this season on top of being 12th nationally in total points. Just the same as the internal competition in goals scored, Sheridan is nearly matching the sophomore's stride at 24th in NCAA III in total points on the season.
Sophomore goalkeeper Lauryn Lewis (Carrollton, Texas / Creekview) has capitalized on great back-line play all season by keeping her goals-against average down to 0.222, which ranks sixth in NCAA III.
On the Celts: Upon arrival in Houston, the Tigers will face a St. Thomas team in possession of a 4-8-2 overall record, 3-6-1 in SCAC play. The Celts' offensive leader, senior forward Karson Funderburk, ranks eighth in the SCAC with four goals scored, fourth among non-Trinity players in the league.
On the Ladies: By Sunday's matchup with Centenary, the Ladies will have logged their match with Trinity's travel partner, Schreiner University, on top of their 2-13-1 record to date. Centenary's goalkeeper, Madison Ersoff, ranks third in the SCAC with 63 saves.
Looking Ahead – Final Regular-Season Weekend, SCAC Championship
No. 7/8 Trinity Women's Soccer wraps up the 2022 regular season the weekend of October 28, hosting Southwestern University Friday night, followed by Texas Lutheran University on Sunday afternoon.
The 2022 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship will be hosted by Trinity at Paul McGinlay Field with semifinal matches to be played Friday night of November 4, and the finale at 1:00 p.m. Sunday, November 6.
